Basic Chipping: the bump and run

We've all seen Phil Mickelson and his around the green antics, throwing balls way up in the air and stopping them on a dime.  For most shots for the average golfer, this is not only impractical but will ultimately cost you strokes as the margin for error on these type of shots is so small.  The safest method of chipping in most cases is what is called the "bump and run" chip.  The idea is to keep the ball as close to the ground as possible and let the ball roll to the hole as opposed to flying it to the stick.

When to hit it:

The "bump and run" is a chip that I use quite frequently due to its ease of hitting and ability to get the ball close to the hole on a very consistent basis.  As a general rule, I will use this style chip as my default chip unless any of the following conditions are met:

• You have to carry a hazard such as a bunker or water
• The green is extremely undulated
• You are more than 10 yards from the green

If none of these conditions are met, I will attempt a bump and run.  If any of these are what you find yourself facing, you will want to try a different style of chip (to be discussed in a later post).

How to hit it:

So now that you when when to hit it and the benefits it provides, lets discuss how to hit it.  You will want to select a club that allows you to land the ball just onto the edge of the green with the minimum amount of loft.  This will generally be between a 6 through 9 iron (using the 6 iron for the chips when extremely close to the green moving back through the clubs to a 9 iron when between 8 and 10 yards from the green).

The stance for hitting this chip is extremely important and what largely contributes to the inherent consistency of the chip.  You will want to take a very narrow stance (almost to the point where your feet are touching each other).  Then open your stance so that your lead foot is approximately 30 degrees open.  You will want to play the ball in the very back of your stance, in line with your back foot.

Next, choke down on the club by about an inch and keep your hands forward of the club-head to de-loft the club by a few degrees.  This will allow you to keep your wrists firm through impact and allow you to make firm solid contact with the ball without having to take a big swing.  Gauge how hard you think you would have to hit a putt to get the ball to the whole from the distance you are chipping.  Add a small ammount to that, and with your hands in front of the ball, make a putter-like swing.  The ball should pop off the club much higher than a putt would from that distance, but should then roll like a putt once it hits the green.

Other things to consider:

You will want to whenever possible attempt to land the ball on the green as opposed to in the rough or on the fringe.  The green provides a far more consistent and reliable first (and most important) bounce to get the ball rolling towards the hole.  Along the same lines, try to land the ball on a relatively flat portion of the green to prevent the ball from "shooting forward" when landing on a downhill slope or "dying" when landing on an upslope.

Don't forget to read the break in your chip.  Since the ball will only be in the air for a short time and predominately rolling like a putt, make sure you read the green and compensate for the break as you would for a putt.

So hit the links, make more birdies, and No More Bogeys!